What gives?
by jaggedjacket
Summary: Kakashi just can't seem to mind his own business. He is caught up with her affairs and he won't addmit to himself why. Trouble comes to those who meddle. Me no own.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is Kakashi's first run in with team Gai, when they were genins, before the invasion, and obviously, before they got their act together.

…..

Hatake Kakashi could tell time: which was quite ironic since he was always late. It was not, however, a conventional means to tell time, as it was measured by how much was read in one of his novels that he was notoriously carrying at all times. But it was damn accurate, even if he was the only one who knew it. He knew the exact time it took for him to read each page, but more importantly, he didn't want anyone to know that was how he could track time. Thus the reason for the less than punctual arrival times: he didn't want anyone to catch on.

So when Tenten had arrived back at the time she did, sporting many a fillet fish, kabobbed and ready to be thrown on the fire, he quickly double checked just how long it had taken her.

Neji and Lee, he noted (as he thumbed threw the pages) were not making a big deal of this. They sat patiently on a fallen stump by the fire, after rearranging the fish to cook evenly around the open flame. The boys looked at her, almost expectantly, and Kakashi had to stop checking the time frame in his book so he would not miss the interplay.

"Took you long enough," Neji complained stiffening his shoulders to show his contempt.

"Neji is right, Tenten, you took longer than you normally do, perhaps your ankle is not as youthful as you had anticipated!" Lee referenced her tapped ankle as Tenten took a seat beside Kakashi, now tugging her pant leg over the dressings with a frown. She had asked to not be on this mission because of it. He doubted the boys knew that.

Kakashi tried not to gape openly at the two boys. He felt a sympathetic pain for the konoichi beside him; her teammates weren't remotely nice even though she was wounded. They had openly insisted that she get the fish from the stream, which he thought wasn't right as well, but the boys had been quite animatedly firm on the matter. Tenten had agreed that it was no big deal and was gone before he could say otherwise.

Now it was a five minute run to the stream one way. Kakashi could easily count on _his_ boys taking no more than thirty minutes to run down, make a pole, catch the fish and fillet and kabob them and clean up and come back to camp.

"I know," Tenten deliberately put on a fake smile, "Sakura would have been back in ten minutes." She said this as if she had heard it often, like she was constantly being compared to the pink haired konoichi. Ten minutes was enough to run to the stream look at it and run back; impossible on any ones account.

Kakashi noted that Neji blushed just a bit and turned away, while Lee enthusiastically agreed (and he was not going to mention it but since she had brought it up) that Sakura would have gotten him his favorite berry while out in the brush as well.

Kakashi reeled. Like hell Sakura would. Sakura would have taken at least 50 minutes if she hurried, and would not have bothered to think much beyond complaining to do such a task enough to gather berries for one of her teammates, even if Sasuke himself had specifically asked for them.

Kakashi would have taken twenty minutes to do the same job, also if he hurried.

"Be nice or Santa won't deliver your presents." Tenten raised an eyebrow and threatened the two boys, who noticeably perked up at her statement. Well, Lee did. Neji just looked like he managed to get the stick wedged just a bit further up his ass.

She threw them each a small brown leather sack, and the boys opened them greedily.

"You did get me my favorite berries!" Lee beamed with delight as he opened his bag. Neji remained stoic, opening his pouch and munching on the wild nuts that she had gathered for him, all without one word of thanks.

Curse Gai for making him fill-in during his absence. He didn't even like his own genin half the time.

Kakashi was deciding that her teammates were friggin' jerks when she tossed a similar brown parcel to him. "Please don't ride my ass for stopping to soak my ankle while I was gone," she pleaded exasperatingly and turned the fish kabobs on the fire to let the other sides cook.

"I knew it!" Neji took one of his nuts and threw it at the konoichi who deftly ducked the attack, only to have the ammunition land in Kakashi's lap. Kakashi eyed the small nut between his fingers. These were not hard nuts to gather, but it would have taken a while to spot a tree, climb it and collect them in that quantity. He was impressed. He was more impressed when he opened his pouch.

Wild mushrooms-his favorite. So how did she know that?

"Tenten, a word." Kakashi stood up and the pink clad konoichi hung her head and followed as if she was marching off to her own execution.

He led her well out of earshot of the boys and Tenten slumped against a tree, and taking her weight off of her hurt ankle and didn't bother to meet his eyes.

"Does your ankle hurt?" Kakashi asked moving towards her with the intent of inspecting it. She shied away.

"I can do my job; I assure you it will not hinder my performance again." She moved away from him with a hint of defiance in her voice, as if daring him to compare her to his female student.

Right, hinder his left foot.

"I am not here to lecture you." Kakashi eased his way towards her again, "how did you know that I liked mushrooms?"

"Gai." Tenten spoke as if that was the end all answer to his question.

"What do you mean, 'Gai'?" Kakashi was hoping that this wasn't going where he thought it was.

"Your favorite color is blue, your favorite band is _Flow_, you hate cake, but love ice cream, you have a pair of scissors in every drawer of your apartment because you hate not being able to find a pair when you need to cut something, you wear boxer briefs, but sleep naked…"

"I see. Gai talks about me." Was he blushing? She looked bored and ready for him to yell at her any moment.

"Can you tell her to pick one?" Tenten broke the awkwardness that only he was feeling at the moment.

"Excuse me?" Kakashi questioned her train of thought. She motioned with a thumb back to the campsite.

"Either one, I don't care; if she dates one then maybe I won't have to hear about her so much." Tenten closed her eyes as if she were praying for such things to come to fruition. Maybe she was praying for patience, or just wanting some relief from the pain in her ankle. "I know she is hung up on that Uchiha kid," to which she promptly rolled her eyes, "but maybe her sensei might be able to persuade her?"

"Aaah." Kakashi knew the constant comparing was grating on her, and it was disheartening to see the obviously talented konoichi being forced to put up with two teammates who seriously need a good bash to the head in order to appreciate her more. After all, she had come back start to finish to go get fish in just under twenty two minutes. Not to mention she had collected berries, mushrooms and nuts in that time, and managed to soak her foot. Did he also need to remind himself that she had caught a feast of fish for them to eat as well? Even Kakashi wasn't that fast.

"I'll see what I can do." And by that, he meant he might take out all the assholes on team Gai.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The second run in with Tenten. Here, Tenten is a chuinin.

…

It was out of sheer curiosity, he convinced himself, which permitted him to be bullied by his own student into doing such a nonsensical thing. He had absolutely no faith in the treatment, but Kakashi realized that it wasn't just to humor Sakura as he opened the door.

Tenten gave a friendly smile and Kakashi politely ushered her into his apartment.

She had gotten taller, curvier, showing the distinct marks of a young woman. A young woman who was now not only taking over his coffee table by piling it full of what seemed random objects, but moving it out of the way to make space on the floor.

"So, she threatened you," Tenten stated flatly, knowing full well the only way that he would agree to a _Gua sha_ treatment was if someone blackmailed him. She opened a jar of ointment and motioned for him to lie down on the floor. She had never been one for small talk, but the air around her never seemed to be uncomfortable, perhaps that was the reason she didn't need to fill it with idle chatter. There simply wasn't a need.

Kakashi nodded to her statement as he relinquished his shirt and threw it on the couch with frown. Granted he had given in to Sakura's petulant fit a bit sooner than he would normally would have at the mention of Tenten's name; he still held firmly that it was only because she had threatened to burn his signed copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_ if he didn't acquiesce. Sakura's screeching definitely added a level of early compliance, not to mention the stupid medieval treatment couldn't hurt. Hell, maybe he could actually get a little relief.

He looked at the traditional Chinese soup spoon that Tenten was holding at a weird angle and quickly banished that last thought.

He plopped down on the floor and waited.

"Aren't you going to make a clone so that if Sakura deems it threat worthy again you can just do this treatment at home with out me?" Tenten offered slowly to the man lying prone on his carpet. He had the decency to prop himself up on his elbow and look her in the eye before answering.

"I'll take my chances." He settled back into his position while Tenten rubbed a thick ointment on his skin after quickly palpitating his muscles.

"This might tickle," she said absent mindedly starting in on the methodical scraping, "my clone makes me jump every time I get my back done."

"It's impossible to be tickled by yourself." Kakashi cut in lazily, quite enjoying the smooth scraping tempo on his back.

"I can't tickle myself, but my clone can tickle me," she spoke slowly like a doctor explaining a procedure, "just don't go around telling people how ticklish I am," she added quickly, realizing her admission.

"Bout time I found out something about you, Gai has probably told you all my life story by now."

Tenten snorted out a laugh, "I thought you two were dating the way he went on about how you save all your fortune cookie slips in a small box under your bed and read them out loud to yourself when you can't figure out how to solve a personal problem."

Kakashi froze with fear. Then he turned over and looked her sternly in the eyes with his one beady black one.

"_I am not gay_." He enunciated firmly.

"Easy, now, you'll get ointment on your carpet." Tenten reprimanded indifferently to the words that he spoke. He slowly turned over completely infuriorated with Gai.

"You do realize that it will look like Ibiki flogged you when I get done with your back right?" Tenten continued her ministrations. "And that the markings are going to last for quite sometime, perhaps weeks?" She sounded like she was reading a disclaimer or warning on the side of a medicine bottle.

She was wiping up the slop that she gooped on his back and was packing up her kit before Kakashi realized that she was done.

"That's it?" Kakashi blinked as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

Tenten slung her bag handle over her shoulder and headed towards the door.

"Don't pretend you are going to miss the torture." Tenten rolled her eyes in a playful way, "and you weren't the only one Sakura blackmailed into agreeing to do this." And with that remark she said, "ja ne," and closed the door. Kakashi was suddenly aware of how much better his back felt as he straightened up.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: After the fourth shinobi war. Tenten is a jounin now. Here is where our story picks up.

….

Kakashi tried to convince himself that it was pity that was leading him across the room and not jealously as he watched Genma back Tenten up into a wall and lean in her personal space.

Kakashi would have done it for Sakura, really, had she been in that kind of position. He would even have done it for what's her face on Kurenai's team as well. Really, he would have, because that was just the kind of nice guy that Kakashi was. It had absolutely nothing to do with any other emotion other than being nice, and helpful, and what was that word that he was going to use again? Ah, yes, pity. He felt sorry for her. Thus the helping.

"Anko is looking for you," Kakashi explained doing a wonderful impersonation of Shikamaru looking bored as he swirled his drink gingerly in his cup, "She seemed upset, you might want to go find her." Before she finds you, hint, hint.

Genma shifted the senbon in his mouth slowly, shuffling through his options briefly in his head before he mumbled some apologies and quickly left the party.

Tenten looked impartial to Kakashi's lingering as he leaned up against the wall beside her, still trying to keep the neutral expression in his body language.

She took another sip of her beer and casually looked around the party, effectively ignoring the masked shinobi beside her.

Kakashi was reminded again that she wasn't one for frivolous banter. The air between them was comfortable as she continued to gaze around the room, but the silver hair jounin was busy eyeing her down, trying to read her mood. She could at least be grateful for his unsolicited help.

"Your welcome."

"Are you supposed to be thankful to meddling people nowadays?" Tenten didn't bother to turn to him as she spoke, but she only seemed slightly put-out. "I must be getting old, these customs change so quickly."

"Speaking of old," Kakashi cut in, "Genma is nearly ten years your senior," he admonished.

"Nice, now you are meddling _and_ passing judgment; would you like to take my beer? I've only been able to drink legally for eight years now. My top showing too much cleavage? My skirt too short?"

_Why yes_, Kakashi thought, _they were_; he had been ogling her from the corner of his good eye since Genma left.

"Good to see you don't approve. Here, take my beer, I'll go change," she shoved said drink into his free hand and charged with clenched fists towards the door after throwing back her straight brown hair furiously over her shoulders. Several men turned their heads to watch her backside retreat and Kakashi was following her without even realizing it.

He abandoned the drinks at a nearby table and ran his way through the streets trying to find her.

Damn, how had she gotten so good at hiding her chakra signature? Really, he had only been trying to help. He hadn't at all been jealous.

Really.

….

She was sitting at a table in the jounin's lounge when he approached her, but only a split later than Genma did. That senbon mouth-toggling jerk was starting to get on his nerves.

He was leaning again, swishing that senbon casually in his mouth, a gloved hand covering the scroll in front of her with the intent to distract her attention so she could focus on him.

"Good grief, what do you two want," Tenten folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair, eying the two shinobi's wearily. Genma had to turn his head 90 degrees to view the silver haired jounin behind him, and Kakashi held up a capricious hand and greeted them with a "yo."

Genma stepped back to face Kakashi head on, angling his head to one side, not altogether happy about being cock-blocked the other night.

"Anko wasn't looking for me," he began by way of telling him that he was pissed.

"No?" the copy-nin looked confused, "perhaps she said _Aoba_, not _Genma_; it was awfully hard to hear last night." He looked innocent enough. Genma exchanged a glance with Tenten, who didn't offer up much reassurance back at him, and the shinobi knocked on the table as if to state that Kakashi had won this round, muttering a "see ya round Ten" before heading out.

Tenten hadn't moved a single millimeter as she waited for an explanation from the older jounin. He slipped into a chair across from her and peered at the schematic scroll with feigned interest.

"What do you want," She cut to the chase.

"Better off without him, I assure you," he brushed off her comment and took out his book.

"Well, aren't you a piece of work," Tenten said shaking her head. She gathered up her scrolls and headed out the door, and Kakashi was hoping that it wasn't to go find Genma. Watching her retreat, he glanced at his book, then at the door, then shut his book and followed her.

He was able to catch up to her this time and he strolled along side her and took out his book and began to read. It was enough for anyone to be seething. He had expected to see one of the veins pop out in her forehead the way it did when Sakura got mad or jut her jaw out to the side like she did right before she slugged someone.

Kakashi was totally expecting some sort of reaction from her. Anything in the way of pissed off would have been nice. An angry cold shoulder would have been better. He was waiting to see if she would employ such tactics when she stopped.

"What are you doing?" he lowered his book to see the twin bunned konoichi smiling at the Hokage's secretary as she filled out some documents.

She looked up at him like he _wasn't_ just stalking her through the halls of the Hokage tower, but had casually showed up as if a coincidence.

"Oh, hi, Hatake-san," she greeted politely, "I was just signing my name up on the last spot on this roster for the volunteer squad."

Kakashi didn't look away from her seemingly innocent look, as he forcefully grabbed the clipboard from the desk.

Shit.

The volunteer squad was being led by that senbon sucking bastard and Tenten had actually filled in the last slot on the list.

"Funny, that is why I am here too," Kakashi eyed the names on the list, "Gai wanted me to take his spot," he grabbed a pen and scratched out his name to replace it with his.


	4. Chapter 4

"I think you should take this more seriously, Gai," Kakashi reasoned to his friend. He of all people should be on his side. Genma was bad news, why was he the only one seeing this?

"Genma has been trying to get her to sign up for that volunteer mission for a while," Gai explained back, "and why are you so interested in volunteering all of a sudden?" he aimed the conversation accusingly at his eternal rival, "you hate volunteer work."

"Someone has to make sure that Genma behaves," Kakashi volleyed back at him as if he was tired that it was suddenly his job. "So, I took your spot on the team." Okay, so he had neglected to mention that little tiny bit of information before now.

"What?" Gai stated with a disapproving look, "I, unlike you, _like_ to volunteer. Usually it's just a bunch of guys going out and digging wells anyways. Your not the kind to do manual labor or hang out with anyone but me, what gives?"

Now it was going to be a sausage fest? Except Tenten. Oh shit, she was the only girl on that damn list as he recalled going over the names in his head. And now, because of his meddling, he had just made his life significantly more complicated.

…..

Kakashi got down on hands and knees and shuffled boxes under his bed until he found the small black box he was looking for. It was about the tenth of the side of a shoe box, and he carefully opened the lid as he sat on his bed to reminisce about the contents inside.

Funny, he didn't remember reading this fortune before, "trouble only comes from those who meddle."

Maybe he was just tired, he picked up another unfamiliar slip of paper, "the interference of others will cause you much grief" not to mention, "happiness lies in your own affairs" were all written out on the same paper, but they conveniently lacked the same subtle smell as the others did. Underneath his bed was not a pleasant place for smells. The papers that the rouge fortune slips were written on were not as pungent with the musty smell that seemed to be more prominent on the other slips of paper. They smelled like they were newer fortunes.

Some one had tampered in his fortune cookie slip box. He smiled. There were only a few people that knew about his box of wisdom that he kept underneath his bed.

He _had_ gotten to her.

…

Kame, she was going to pay for this.

Tenten was conveniently _not_ with the squad that was going out to dig trenches along the north boarder with Genma's team. She was smart enough to get someone to go by proxy, explaining to Genma, he supposed, that she had found a substitute and would no longer be attending due to whatever the hell excuse she gave him not to be there.

Kakashi was issued a shovel and the only thing he wanted to do with it was shove it up that senbon-mouthing jack hole's ass. So, with a clever bunshin taking his place, the man returned to Konoha in search of revenge on his now targeted konoichi.

And paybacks were a bitch.

So when Kakashi had finally locked down her chakra signature and found Aoba cornering her by the vending machines _exactly_ the way Genma had at the party earlier that week, he was definitely seeing red.

She recognized him from a ways away outside the Hokage's tower and changed her stance from being mildly entertained, to suddenly very interested and even played the game of _there is a fuzzy on your collar let me get that for you_.

She was smiling up at Aoba now, and the taller shinobi was suddenly backing out of her space if only to allow for Kakashi's commanding presence to rush in and grab Tenten's wrist without hesitation to haul her away from him.

"She's late for ditch digging duty," he explained curtly to the goggled man as he continued to drag the brown-eyed girl along side him.

She wasn't putting up much of a fight, just looking irritatingly pissed, more like what he would expect out of a mature adult indulging, for the moment, a truculent child. They were well out of ear shot, when he stopped and threw her wrist back to her, which she promptly started to soothe with her other hand as he cut in, "just what do you think you are doing?"

She had the nerve to react calmly, because honestly, she should be asking him that question.

"At the moment, I am out-smarting a fellow jounin, as well as humoring him."

"What?" he quickly replied, man did he get stupid when he got jealous.

"I am beginning to think that I am not just collateral damage to get back at Genma," she stated with a half-bored look in her eyes, "unless you have a personal vendetta against Aoba as well?"

Kakashi was walking on dangerous ground; he needed to find a level head and fast. "I am merely trying to help out my fellow shinobi; you shouldn't skip volunteer work once you sign up." He explained with calm and ease. He couldn't believe she had gotten him so riled up.

"How kind of you to stick your nose into my business once again," she bit sarcastically.

"Now unless you want to say what's _really_ on your mind, I am going to get going."

"Can't wait to get back to dig trenches, let's walk together." Kakashi announced sidestepping her comment. Her comment that had suddenly gotten Kakashi into thinking about how in the hell he had ended up so tangled in her affairs. Somehow, the line that he was _just looking out for her_ seemed laughable if he tried to say it out loud.

She was walking closer to him, in a determined way, in a very enticing way. Her hands were fingering his vest collar, as she pulled him foreword and leaned her body against his.

Kakashi's one eye went very wide, and he was on full alert for whatever the sly little minx was going to throw at him-weather that be a knee to the groin or something far more painful.

She had pulled him so close her lips were brushing against his ear when she whispered very slowly, "let me have my fun, or I will have to come after you to get it." He couldn't tell if she bit his earlobe warningly or playfully or if it was more of one of those things you did after threatening someone so seductively. He didn't have time to reel at that little tease of foreplay, because he was too busy gaping at the smoke suddenly surrounding him.

It had been a clone.

She could be anywhere.

Kakashi had been duped again.

…

Ok, Kakashi was seriously getting upset. She was having a casual lunch outside of a local café pouring over work documents again like she had been in the jounin lounge. Aoba was going over the schematics sheet with Tenten and he kept brushing up against her arm as he pointed to certain areas of the sheet. He noticed only one empty glass on the table. He had probably just joined her.

Aoba gingerly reached an arm around her as he tapped an area of the map with the other hand.

Tenten looked up and caught sight of the copy nin walking his way toward the outside pavilions. Her face remained mutely the same, but she hesitated on his glare for just a split second before smiling fondly at Aoba and leaning into him ever so slightly as she pointed in turn to the papers before them. Aoba noticed the empty drink of hers and took it inside to get her a refill before the twin bunned shinobi could object to him leaving.

Kakashi slid casually into Aoba's vacant spot.

"Good afternoon, Hatake-san," she said politely enough. He could tell she was preparing herself for what ever it was that he was going to throw at her.

"I'm not interrupting anything? Am I?"

"You? Never." She shot back at him and rubbed her neck with a free hand. She looked tired and frustrated.

"Must be tired from sneaking under other people's beds," he noted as she swiped her hands around her face in an attempt to gain composure and clarity.

"I've not been sneaking anywhere," she deadpanned, "and on top of them is where I would like to be," she mumbled the last part to him as Aoba appeared with the glass of water in hand.

She thanked him with a smile and he took a chair across from her, although he looked a bit leery now that Kakashi magically appeared and commandeer his spot. She shrugged her shoulders in response as if to say she didn't know either.

She gathered up her scrolls and headed off with a smile and a _good afternoon_ to the male shinobis after leaving some money for the bill and promising Aoba to meet him later.

Kakashi wasn't going to let her get away that easily.

He hid his chakra and hopped out in front of her when she was four blocks away from the restaurant.

She so very nicely jumped and made a sound like a bath toy, before hitting him with her scrolls and cursing.

Finally, he had gotten a raise out of her.

"What the fuck is your problem?" She straightened up and pulled her vest taunt trying for all the world to not look so disheveled and flustered from his "attack."

Her hair was loosing little wisps from its two buns adding to her look of less than professional decorum. He had her frazzled. He smiled.

"Did I do something to you that would solicit this kind of behavior from you?" she began with locked elbows at her side, following him down the streets of Konoha, "You loose a bet?" she ventured, "hit your head?"

They had made their way to his apartment and she seemed undeterred as he opened the door. She followed him inside without thinking, still raving.

He easily ignored her, smiling through his mask as he made some tea.

"Dammit Kakashi!" she yelled, "answer me!"

Her face had turned nearly red from frustration. Her hands were gripping the cardboard tube of the scrolls that she carried them in until they white knuckled the casing until it was crushed. She was really pissed.

But all he did was raise a mug up to her and offer very politely, "Tea?"

Throwing up her hands in frustration and growling, the konoichi made a move to exit the way she came in only to be blocked by a very different looking shinobi. It was still Kakashi, but he had a different look in his eyes. He had removed the hai ate from his left eye and was looking down at Tenten with all gravity and sincerity. And a hungry determination.

Tenten took a step back from the man covering the front door and then took a few more as he was slowly walking towards her. As she backed herself into the kitchen counter, there was a panic in her eyes as she realized that Kakashi was closing the distance and there was no where else to retreat.

"Hatake-san," she explained with a worried tone, "I don't know what you think I did, but I assure you, genjutsuing me isn't the answer." She wasn't just worried, he quickly realized, she was scared.

She thought she was going to be tortured because Kakashi had unmasked his shiringan and was going to take out some kind of revenge on her. That made sense, he hadn't ever quite explained his little fascination with her. Revenge, was a logical conclusion to come to. Unleashing his stolen Uchiha power would be an excellent way to execute such a thing to torture her.

Well, then, he would just have to prove her wrong.

"Just tell me what you think I did to you and we can work this out," she offered with a very fake smile, blinking nervously.

"If you thought this was a genjitsu," he carefully brushing up against her, "then why haven't you tried to dispel it?" he drew up a hand to gently caress her face. She looked at him wide-eyed at the touch, not breaking eye contact with him.

Reaching for the nape of her neck to draw her close, he pressed his masked mouth to her ear, "you could have at least tried to counter attack."

To this, the temptress nuzzled back affectionately, sending shivers down his spine, and tenderly weaved some of the tuffs of silver hair from the back of his neck in her fingers. She purred wickedly in his ear, "who says I haven't?"

Kakashi pulled his mask down, pressing his lips over hers to silence her in a drudgingly erotic kiss, right before the flash bomb detonated.

Who cares if she had warned him, he knew he couldn't waste the opportunity to take those temptingly soft lips captive. It was well worth the eye stinging, but he was sorely disappointed when he found that his devious little konoichi had split.


	5. Chapter 5

Forget upset, Kakashi was livid. Did she really have to meet with Aoba and flirt with him shamelessly? She had to know that he was watching.

When the hell had he become so voyeuristic?

Somehow he had crossed a very fine line of sanity and the only cure lay beyond that thin door who was talking with that goggled idiot.

He liked Aoba, hell, he was a nice enough guy. He was a decent shinobi, strong, handsome, polite, not frivolous about dating just anyone. He was the kind of guy that someone like Tenten could easily fall in love with, settle down and marry.

So naturally, Kakashi wanted to rip his damn head off and feed it to his ninken.

They were getting cozy on the couch, he settling his arm around her like he did before at the café earlier that day. She quite comfortably moved into make herself at home, resting her head on his chest. Then she took out her hair, letting it cascade around her shoulders. She leaned forward to shake it out. Aoba slowly reached out to touch it, probably casually mentioning how soft if felt or how lovely the scent of her shampoo was. She tilted her head to the side and spoke. He instinctively moved a hand to his glasses, hesitant about taking them off in her presence.

Only she could manipulate some one into taking off that kind of security blanket. Kakashi had seen her do it a few times with Shino.

She curiously reached out and slid them off his face. She sighed with her head cocked to the side and smiled. She probably said something to him about how it was such a shame to hide such things so that others couldn't enjoy them. Pity, she would say.

And she would mean it, too, which made Kakashi even more mad. Aoba was falling for such a stupid ploy as he smiled victoriously and they settled back into their places on the couch.

They looked so damn happy it made Kakashi sick.

So, naturally, he did the only logical thing he could think of: he set the building on fire.

The old furnacing system was far outdated anyways, and most of everyone was out on the streets and safe. Kakashi had made sure the only destruction was to the ancient heating ducts which seriously needed to be replaced. They were no longer up to code and presented to be a fire hazard. He considered what he did a public favor. Who said he wasn't one for volunteer work?

Granted that reduced the chances of Aoba dying in his sleep from a fire in the middle of the night, but it got them out of the apartment and into the public eye, so Kakashi considered it a victory.

It was shortly after they had been staring aimlessly on the street up at the complex when Aoba realized he left his glasses inside.

Kakashi just happened to be walking by when the shinobi had dashed up to his apartment to fetch them

"What's going on?" he asked casually, as if spotting all the people on the street for the first time.

Tenten had been holding her arms together, rubbing them every so often to keep them warm as she looked up at the apartment complex. She looked over at him and then looked at the building. Then she looked at Kakashi again with wonder and back to the smoldering furnace.

"_You did __**not**_," she spoke as if she was hoping that he would contradict her assessment.

"I did not _what_?" he asked in an offended way and did not like being accused.

She seemed to not hear him as she looked so very disappointed and outraged at his behavior.

"Since when did you decide to sink to such low levels as to destroy private property? Let me guess, the fire was limited to the old heating vents and no ones actual apartment? You couldn't have just triggered the alarm?"

"Do you really think no ones apartment got damaged?" Kakashi asked while he lightly considered lighting one of them on fire just to throw her off his trail.

"Buildings like this aren't as up to code as the newer ones. It would be a miracle if no one was hurt and there wasn't a lot of property damage."

Aoba had come back down with his goggles back on his face, but there was a disconcerting frown also there and Tenten didn't have to look far to see who the culprit was.

"My apartment is covered in soot," he explained to Tenten, who had turned her back on Kakashi to offer Aoba her undivided attention. "I am afraid that pie I baked is ruined. Sorry, Tenten, I will just have to make dessert for you another time."

Tenten was busy smiling up at him, in the middle of reassuring him that yes, she would love for him to bake her another pie and eat it with him very soon, when Kakashi very rudely interrupted.

He was able to see her eyes flash warningly at him right before he graciously offered Aoba a place to stay at his house for the evening. Aoba looked around clueless for a moment, unable to turn down such an elegantly offered gesture. He muttered his gratitude and dumb luck and told Kakashi that he would just grab a few things from his apartment and head back down.

With Aoba out of earshot, Tenten turned to look at Kakashi, and he had to fight a smile on his face she was so pissed.

Walking closer with each angry step, Kakashi noted her jaw jutting to the side before she spoke, "Because he couldn't have stayed at _my_ apartment?" She was grinding her teeth now, and Kakashi not only fought laughter at her perturbed appearance, but had the audacity to reply back to her.

"Well, that just wouldn't be proper," he said placing a little old lady in a pink bathrobe and curlers in between the two as he spoke.

Ignoring the sudden barrier, she side stepped Mrs. Apartment Number 102 and kept slowly and stealthily making her way to Kakashi.

"Stop. Meddling." She growled through clenched teeth. Aoba was back with a backpack over his shoulder, explaining to Kakashi, again, how grateful he was that he had a place to bunk for the night. With a hand squeeze to Tenten, a disapproving look from Kakashi, and a smile to Aoba, they ended the evening.


	6. Chapter 6

Kakashi led his way into his apartment, small and seemingly unobtrusive for the loner that Kakashi was. In truth it looked like he might have just moved in with how sparse that things looked. The walls remained bare, he not wanting to waist the time to ruin his security deposit by nailing a hole in the brick for the sake of décor. Boxes cluttered underneath his bed and there was an unsurprising lack of possessions and fresh groceries.

The few things that Aoba eyed casually as he wandered around his living room were the sequential pictures of the teams that he had been assigned to over the years. The team with Rin and Obito were the first on his right, which Kakashi noticed he passed over without so much of a second glance at, but carefully picked up the next in succession. He offered Aoba a glass of water as he inspected the photos, the Shiringen user spying him at the corner of his own eye at his odd behavior.

He had covered almost everyone in the photo as he inspected it, though not his pink haired student. Perhaps it was just how he picked up the photo, letting his thumb naturally cover everyone on the right as he perused.

Then it happened again to the next in line after replacing that one, and Kakashi was certain that his findings had not been misplaced. Especially with what came out of the younger jounin's mouth next.

"Shame she was so hung up on that Uchiha kid." He placed the frame back down and peered at the next, covering up the others in the photo with a well placed thumb.

"She's just looking for the right person," Kakashi couldn't stop himself. "I heard she was inquiring after weather you and Tenten were serious, seems she was sorely disappointed that you were." He handed the glass to the shinobi who was smudging his photographs.

"She was? Really? I mean, Tenten and I aren't serious, we're just friends." He stammered hastily.

Kakashi drew a lazy eye on the lanky man.

A large part of him hated himself for knowing, and he had a feeling he was burning in hell for all his pragmatic encounters with the weapon's mistress. Especially now.

A larger part of him felt increasingly bad for Tenten. The tension that Sakura unknowingly gave her with her former teammates was bad enough. The constant comparison weighed on that young girl heavily, and he was surprised that Tenten had rose above it all, leaving the past behind and never once holding a grudge, even when Sakura was able to train with the sannin over Tenten.

This might just be enough to send her over the edge.

Now, after all these years, the one person that the dark haired konoichi chose to place her sights on was just as head over heels in love with Sakura as her young genin team once was.

He had half a mind to kill Aoba on the spot for that folly alone.

And what the hell were they seeing in Sakura? The attraction was obviously lost on Kakashi that it boggle his mind and he left such thoughts for a time when maybe alcohol could perhaps help him warm up to such views. He tried hard not to roll his good eye at the love sick ninja in front of him.

Although part of him was happy that there was no attachment to his Tenten, the part that was attached to Sakura was wholly unappealing.

His Tenten.

"I'll get you a blanket," Kakashi spoke kindly; "it's getting late."

…..

"I need a favor," Kakashi approached the pinkette with reservation. He was using his serious voice, which perked her interests greatly. She shifted her weight on her feet and turned to face him, even as she slid files on a clipboard, preparing to make her morning rounds.

The hospital buzzed with the sounds of a morning parade, the regiments of pills slogging in bins, machines methodically beeping and the sterile smell of antiseptic that Kakashi had learned to loath. Just being in the hospital agitated him even when he wasn't dying. The act of actually going to it of his own volition spoke of the gravity of his desperation.

"It's about Aoba," he began, not quite knowing where to start.

"Oh, is he here?" the medic nin looked on tip toe above his shoulders and down the hall, unconsciously flattening her medical coat with her hands against her body and running a hand through her hair. The primping was brief, but hadn't escaped the former sensei's notice.

Well, he'd be damned. She liked him, too. Of all the fool things…

"He was wondering if you were free tonight," Kakashi began before he even realized he started, "wanted to run over some stuff with you over dinner at his place, couldn't ask you himself, was busy this morning on a mission."

His former charge blushed furiously, turning the same shade as her hair as she suddenly placed her gaze at her feet to avoid his blank look.

It was just too easy.

He would realize his mistake later as he watched the scene play out at Aoba's place later that night. He had informed Aoba of the med-nin's arrival and he had been more than just a little floored and excited about such an encounter.

What he didn't anticipate, was for Tenten to show up. She stood on his stoop, ready to knock when she had heard the muffled laughter on the other side of the door.

Kakashi hated himself as he watched. She peered surreptitiously in the window to check out who Aoba was entertaining. She was certainly shocked to find out it was the pink haired girl, and she leaned crestfallen into the door like she had just received a lethal blow.

Recovering quickly after another round of playful laughter hit her through the entrance barrier, she took off with determination and urgency away from the hurtful noise.

Kakashi sighed, reviling himself for arranging the pair. Jumping down in persuit, he soon realized that he could not find an ounce of chakra to even formulate any kind of search. She had vanished again.

Kakashi drew heavy steps on his way through the streets of Konoha, eventually taking himself to the well weathered buildings of the east side.

Slowly, he pushed the paint-cracked door ajar and shuffled through the threshold, mentally reproving his actions over the last week.

So lost in thought was he, that he hadn't noticed the shinobi on his bed until she spoke, flicking tiny cream papers to the ground like confetti.

"How does this help?" she queried with contempt, "this one just says 'have a nice day' how is that even a fortune?" she filed through them, reading each one and then tossing it unceremoniously away from her. They landed in a scattered pile after fluttering in little u-shapes through the air like shiny white leaves. Her jaw was taunt, firmly set in her conviction that enlightenment lay within the confines of the tiny papers as she sifted through each one.

"Tenten," Kakashi ventured towards her cautiously, "I'm sorry."

She flipped another one over, reading the lucky numbers on the back as if she hadn't heard him.

"I don't want your pity, it wasn't your fault." She said flatly, still scrutinizing the slips of paper in her hands. She tossed another with a flick of her wrist. Kakashi cringed, full of shame.

"Yes, it was." He admitted contritely, confessing his guilt with closed lids.

"Trouble comes to those who meddle," she repeated the pericope-like diatribe and launched another scrap to her periphery.

"Tenten," his words escaped him. She sat soberly on the edge of the bed, cradling the small black box in her hands like a precious gift.

She peered into its contents, expecting a revelation to suddenly immerge and lift the foggy haze of uncertainty from her mind. There were no more slips left to be haphazardly flung around. No kind of explanation from Kakashi to ease her pain. She looked entirely too much like the box that lay lifeless in her hands: empty and bereft.

Then she raised her head with those liquid brown eyes, watery from long moments gone without blinking.

Then, quite suddenly, her demeanor changed, shifting her pathetic look to one with a smirk. It had happened within the blink of an eye; an imp replaced the aphotic trance her puppy eyes had emitted.

His fey had returned.

Her intent was very methodic as she slowly lifted herself off the bed and headed towards Kakashi.

Frozen with fear and curiosity, he stood wide-eyed to her approach and concentrated on taking in air at an even pace.

"You've done a lot of meddling, Kakashi," she chastised in a low voice, one that almost sung out a melody of "you've been naughty."

He could only nod, mesmerized by the viridity that emulated from her proximity. She was alive with emotion and intent. He patiently awaited for whatever the konoichi had in store for him.

Then she switched gears again, like the snap of a twig or a gust of wind from the wrong direction.

"I don't want to be another notch on your bed post," she locked her eyes with his, "so go find someone else. I'm not interested." Her tone was quite firm, the conviction real and effortless. The anger behind her eyes flared, but she held her position.

So that's what this was about? That was why she chose Aoba to set her affections on? Perhaps his former student, Sakura, had left a bigger impression on her that he had initially suspected; Tenten was afraid that she couldn't find someone to love her for who she was. She wasn't interested in one-night-stands because they were meaningless rituals that didn't fulfill that need for a companion that truly appreciated her.

The epiphany caused the tables to turn and Kakashi pulled off his mask and hitai-ate so that there was no doubt of his intentions.

Stunned, the twin-bunned female took a retreating step backwards in an attempt to properly judge his unmasked visage before ascertaining what kind of machinations the silver-haired shinobi had up his sleeves.

Like a cornered animal she retaliated, "I am not interested in your games!" she cried, but this did not deter his steps towards her.

Even as he approached he could tell that her body language spoke a whole different language than the words coming out of her mouth. She may have tried to fight him off with her words, but her body screamed for him to touch her. She backed into the side of his bed, cornered and hypnotized at his oncoming advance.

Then the practical side of Tenten's brain attempted to override her body's instincts. She squeezed her eyes shut as if praying for patience to ground herself and rationalize the situation. She was going to try to talk him out of it amicably, and Kakashi would have none of that. So when she finally opened her eyes to mediate the situation diplomatically, he swooped.

In one fluid motion he captured his mouth with hers and gently tackled the konoichi to his bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Kakashi had a sneaking suspicion that the woman who fell onto the bed with him had, in some sort of indefinable way, the ability to shut down higher brain functions of his, so that when his mouth hungrily took hers with a sensual caress, the red flags and warnings that any seasoned ninja listened too, were all together ignored in lieu of soft lips and desperate need that he hadn't even realized he burned for as his hormones took over.

He was across the room and blinking hard when he realized that in an angry flash of hurt eyes, she had taken a chakra-infused hand and palmed his chest with it, sending him stumbling into his coffee table. Even as he looked up at her, dumfounded, he could tell she needed more convincing, and since full use of his faculties weren't an option, he let himself be guided by his instinctual side, taping into Obito's eye for just a bit of help.

He kept her still, letting it seep in slowly that no, he was not going anywhere, and yes, she had just been caught.

"I don't want your damn pity!" she snapped, then turned to leave and realized that she wasn't going to break his trap anytime soon. Her eyes had momentarily widened in surprise as he stepped forward slowly, as if to test her reaction. They narrowed on him as he approached- a scathing look of contempt on her face.

"Now, now," Kakashi castigated, "we will have no more talk like that." He was upon her now, brushed up against her body as he whispered into her ear. His words fell over her, the low breaths of air bristling the soft tendrils of her neck. "I'm quite certain that 'pity' is just a vicarious word for ones that might be a little harder to for you to recognize."

She swallowed a breath of air.

"Genuine interest," he began to play with the wisps of hairs like a cat pawing at a feather, "would be a better description." He then couldn't seem to help himself and began to take out her hair, brandishing a senbon and a demo tag, one from each side. He held them up at her eye level pedantically, stating with contrived certainty, "this is what makes you interesting." To this she rolled her eyes to brush him off as he dismissed the weapons on the coffee table and returned to her. Her eyes held his as he guided his gloved hands to smooth out the loops of her hair until it lay shiny and flat against her shoulders. Her guard was down just as her hair. She no longer held onto the flimsy excuse for his presence, but with a renewed glisten in her eye held his mismatched captive.

The question was there just as if she had spoken it, clinging to his every move and twist of his wrist through her hair as her soft aroma rang sweet and mellow, clouding more of his awareness. It was the kind of query that was answered in action, not words, and his fascination and satisfaction with her grew at an ever alarming rate.

Ahh, intentions were funny things, born of action and thought in one consonance, its efficacy unrivaled.

_Why?_

He could hear every cell of her being ask, and Kakashi mused on, touching her hair, her cheeks, as if the only one in on the answer. In truth he was, but he was obstinately convinced that actions speak louder than words and that by showing her, she would ultimately arrive at the same conclusion.

Because he cared.

Yes, absolutely more than he wanted to say or admit. Lust was, after all, an easier out. Kakashi wasn't one for sweet talk. He wasn't one for relationships. Not in his line of work. Hell none of them were. There was no way to ensure that he would be back and that the empty side of the bed wouldn't stay that way long after one of his missions was complete. Every ninja faced those wretched thoughts. The fear of leaving a loved one behind to mourn. He thought of his dear friend Asuma with a sad heart. It wasn't fair. And he had evaded the inevitable for so long now. His future didn't seem so illusive. Not while the prospect of spending the remaining (however long that might be) of it next to her for as long as she would allow. Life, surprisingly, was showing a new path, one that didn't leave him lonely and waking up in the middle of the night without anything more than a sweaty pillow and empty sheets to cling to. Because if she was there with him, he could show her how much she was worth.

"Kakashi?"

He has slipped into his thoughts, his head clouded with his hands stroking through her soft tendrils, aimlessly spacing out through the cathartic motion. He wondered if there wasn't more to the alluring shampoo than just its tantalizing scent. Perhaps some kind of opiate was infused into its shiny mahogany tresses? He pondered this while she sang his name out to call to his attention.

"Hn?" was all he could be bothered to muster as he fingered a distal end between his fingers like a swatch of silk caught agitating between the pads of his fingers.

"Bored with me already?" she accused, and if she were allowed, she would have no doubt crossed those slender arms of hers across her chest to show her distain. As it were, the tone of voice accomplished such a feat with out the motion.

Kakashi resisted the urge to shake some sense into her by way of grasping her shoulders in his hands and rendering blunt trauma until the cerebral part of her brain began to function on somewhat of a cognitive level. Obviously, the jounin with the long shiny brown hair and eyes that captivated him like the embers of a dying fire did not view herself as anything but ordinary.

Slowly, very methodically, he removed her flack jacket and his own, careful to note the intensity of his eyes as he accomplished such a task. He guided her to his bed, and let her fall down on his fluffy pillow as he embraced her. A short jutsu later and all the lights were out, and the moon spilled light through the window overlooking Kakashi's bed, revealing a very confused konoichi and a very pleased Kakashi who was nuzzling her neck as he drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a distinct lack of a certain female that aroused Kakashi from his slumber. Grasping blindly at the sheets sometime before dawn only to be sorely disappointed, left him sighing with despair as he tried in vain to fall back to sleep. The sheets where she had been only moments ago were still warm and he noted her unique sweet scent lingered ever so subtly as he inhaled his pillow searching for the hypnotic fragrance. Rubbing his thumbs into his and Obito's eye, he stumbled his way into the bathroom, determined to find something better to do with his time than idly thinking about the slender konoichi who had taken off much sooner than he would have liked. As his thenar eminence slowly finished their circular movements around his mismatched eyes, he had to blink several times before his vision could focus enough to read the post-it note attached at a sideways angle on his bathroom mirror.

It simply read with neat, precise characters.

_I thought you slept naked_.

He blinked several more times just to register that he was not hallucinating. It was really all the encouragement he needed. She knew this of course. A smile crept slowly on his face.

Time seemed to skip forward and he was nearly frantically looking for her now. It being late afternoon and no one seemed to have any idea where she could be located. He had found it nearly impossible to concentrate on anything else; his mind was one track at his point.

It was sheer luck that he had found her chakra signature as she talked to one of her former teammates. His words echoed harshly in the cold hallways of the Hokage tower. There was no one around, no one but him at least. He recognized the jouinin with the long hair-that one that tried to kill Hinata during the chunin exams the first time his team had entered them. The Hyuga's broad shoulders leaned in towards Tenten's in a menacing way; replaying an all too familiar scene that Kakashi couldn't help roll his eyes at.

Did all guys think they could get away with being this idiotic?

Tenten pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, a habit that was becoming more and more endearing to Kakashi as she tried to reason with the protégée. He was still too far off to even really register on their radar for eavesdropping and he couldn't quite make out distinctly the words they were saying, but he did manage to make out some few choice words that Tenten dropped so vehemently by the way of, " Are you kidding me?" if he read her lips correctly.

Neji was going off on her about something and Tenten crossed her arms with an indignant expression plastered plainly on her face. Spiced with just a bit of murderous intent, Kakashi decided as he snuck with in ear shot using his ninja prowess.

He only had to hear about three seconds of the conversation to realize that he was going to do something stupid. Neji had just commented on Tenten's inadequate capabilities for procuring an Aoba, who wouldn't be dating Neji's precious Sakura, if Tenten wasn't so incompetent.

The second Neji laid a hand on Tenten, Kakashi lost it. Granted, Neji was just putting a very ill intentioned hand on her shoulder, and Tenten was completely capable of taking care of herself, but somehow he just couldn't stop himself. He remembered seeing his haymaker coming swiftly down between surprised hollow colored eyes and a just a smirk from Tenten out of the corner of his vision. It connected with an most grueling crack, and he was certain he had broke the boys nose as he knocked him out in one swift move that left Kakashi wishing he had just chidoried him instead. Hand throbbing from the impact, he opened and closed his fist as he hovered over the fallen Hyuga.

"I should really be pissed that you did this." Tenten uncrossed her arms to take a gander at Kakashi's handiwork. "But between the fact that I am not going to get into trouble for this and seeing Neji bleed all over the robes he wears to try and impress Sakura, somehow, I'm not mad." She pleasantly ginned with a kind and self-satisfied smile that Kakashi was secretly warmed by. He dumbly blinked at her instead.

Kakashi continued to blink stupidly at her, still shaking out the sting of the blow to his knuckles in an almost unconscious way.

"I say we riffle through his pockets for loose change and go out to eat." She explained this nonchalantly as she found the Huyga's wallet hidden in the folds of his robes and casually took out a large amount of the cash before placing it back where she found it. "Loose change," his left foot. Kakashi was loving this plan.

"There is a new BBQ place downtown that just opened up last week. You game?" She asked, as if what had just happened were a normal occurrence and she wasn't just about to leave an unconscious body lying around with no intention of helping them.

He broke out of his reticent reverie of just blinking at he girl without a remark, "I would love to."

"We should get that hand some ice on it," she said taking it up with great care and slipping the glove off to inspect it. The bruise had spread across the dorsal surface of the hand and a slight swelling had already began to bloat the discolored skin.

"I should have that cute pink-haired konoichi look at it," Kakashi muttered as if very off-handedly. "She is quite the med-nin."

To this, Tenten dropped his hand and stared at him with all the force of a stridulous chidori. He lightly chuckled and picked her hand back up to kiss it over his cowl.

"Too soon?" he tried affably, pulling her close to him. She responded with a shake of the head, an eye roll and a sigh. This time, he wouldn't let her slip away; this time he was going to show her exactly what he wanted from her.

Pulling down the cowl he brushed the aberrant strands from her eyes and slowly pressed his lips against hers. It was slow and intense as he was still trying to get used to her chakra without going into a euphoric haze. It seemed he was doomed, however as she slid her body against his and he wondered if he would ever have another coherent thought. She broke away and quickly leaned onto his chest and sighed with pleasure.

His arms automatically found their way to snake around her, and had a hard time releasing her to continue to their destination. Hand in swollen hand, they enjoyed their meal with their filched moneys and Kakashi decided it was about time to prove to her that he really did sleep naked.

…..

Hope you all enjoyed this. Most reviews I have ever gotten, so I hope I did not disappoint my wonderful loyal fans! Your reviews are better than drugs! I have recently come to love getting massages…if I could get you all a massage…I would! Best things ever!

You know, besides you guys.

Cheers!

-jaggedwhitejacket-


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